Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1887-09-30
sua, ,sa sPARRows.
v.,,au. Iittie Birds which Are Df'''"s
s,ut Native Songsters-

elusive use Vi huteu 49,, ~ 1,
nol;cemen. a naturalist, who iiVea ~
tha narks when he had nothing else 70
40 discovered that the shade trees were
he;nc slowly killed by the caterpi'la.s
"a ethar insects. He wrote big iee.
te,s to one of the newspapers NV
somebody advised the Park Gaams-
sioners to import English sparfows 70
check the evil. Acting upon the sus-
uestion. b,sketful of the bros was
broucht over from England in the fall
~ 1866 and set free in Paramount fark'
Philadelphia. They did SO wen ,ha' ~
the following year another baton was
let loose in Central Park ~
II was not long before it was us.
covered that the sparrows didn't eat
insects at all, and instead OF a boon
they became nuisance.
Like many foreigners, they acted as
If the country was made for them' anu
they set to work driving out the o.hcl
birds whose ancestors lived here before
the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock
They bossed the wrens, leased the Dlue-
laws and took possession OF all the nice
bouses which the Park Commissioners
had built in the shade trees. Ihey preu
fast. and in few years the army was
strong enough to fight all the other
tribes of birds together. One by one
they drove out the orioles and made 1t
80 uncomfortable for the robins that
they moved into the country, and soon
| they had the field all to themselves. In
the meantime the caterpillars held high
| carnival.
Then the cry went up that the SPAR
row was nuisance and ought TO go.
DR.. Merriam, who is at the head OF the
scientific branch of the Department OF
Agriculture, sent out printed circulars
to the farmers all over the country ask
ing them to pass Judgment on the spar
row. He received over two thousand
replies, and not single one of them
had a good word for the sparrow.
Urnithologist Assemblyman Erwin
was much interested in the matter, and
through his efforts the last Legislature
passed bill making it a misdemeanor
punishable by arrest and fine to feed
sparrows or ha,'bor them.
.'Something ought to be done to
check the ravages of the sparrows,
said Mr. c. G. Amcry, Secretary OF the
Audubon Society, 'for there's no doubt
that they are Objectionable. In my
opinion it would be best to treat them
Just like the other game birds-that is,
protect them at certain seasons and al
low sportsmen to slaughter them at will
during the rest of the year. l think il
would be well to set a bounty on the
sparrow's head, say a cent for each
This would encourage the gamins te
kill them and give them chance t.
earn few honest pennies.
Restaurants would cheerfully pay tw'
cents more for the birds, which, by thu
way, are exec llent eating and oftel
palmed off for the more gamy reed
bird. The domestic sparro W is not mi
gratory bird and never leaves the town
or villages, and only a few journey t
the country. They are very pugnaciou
and can fight amy bird of their size
They eat grain and the scraps of foot
, to be found IN the u sh-bartels and gut
, tiers, and a full-hedged sparrow woul
, not condescend to eat the fattest grut
) worm, even if he were almost starved
1t is a singular fact that the young ca
. only be raised by feeding them wit
9 insects until they are big enough to tax
r care of themselves, but after that the
f live like their parents. They bree
from three to four times year and ca
V stand any sort of climate, hot or colo
: Although they have only been in tn
+ country a little over twenty years, the
e have migrated West rapidly, and ca
+ be found almost anywhere east of IL
e Mississippi. l remember when the
: were first introduced into India, whel
s they followed the English army durin
n the war, and in less than five years the
/ were settled in large numbers in tt
S Punjab and Afghanistan.
e They have practically driven out a
e the song birds, and even the swallow
y that used to build their nests under ii
e caves of our houses here have BET
n forced to seek another home"
The writer saw desperate battle b
y tween big sparrow and a swallow Il
other day. The swallow had built j
nest under The canopy of tall chi,
ney. One fine morning sparrow a
i preached, and, perching himself on Il
ir nest, peered saucily into it, and beg,
j. to peck at the poor swallow, who w
e. seated on her eggs. A desperate bait
4, ensued. Unable to defend herself
N her cramped-up position, the swallo
ii left her nest and flew to the roof to o
a away from her tormentor, who follow
" and renewed the battle. The sparro,
a being more skilled in the art of wa
N fare, had the best of it, and after cruel
ID pounding the swallow drove her O
and then returned to the nest and wa
f. tonly destroyed the eggs.
T.. Even the most ardent champions
10 the English sparrow concede that he
lie an enemy to the small American son
. birds, and unless something is done
to check him h. will ultimately extermi
ate them. The farmers also comma
IN that tho sparrow destroys the buds
t; fruit trees and bushes.-M. Y Wor,
|
oh Admiral farraguts nag-snlp. T
nj hartford, is the only one of the c
OF naval hulks at Mare Island Navy va
II, which has not been condemned n